Welcome to the Beginner’s Guide to RVing from RVtravel.com. The information we present here every Monday through Friday is for brand-new RVers – those in the market to buy their first RV and those who just purchased theirs. If you are an experienced RVer, this material may be too basic for you.
This newsletter is funded primarily through advertising and voluntary subscription contributions from our readers. Thanks to all of you!
Friday, August 19, 2022
If you did not get an email notifying you of this newsletter, sign up here to get one every time it is published.
DID YOU MISS reading this morning’s RV Daily Tips Newsletter? Good stuff there.
Page Contents
RVing Basics
How do I know if my propane tank is leaking?
Most newer RVs are equipped with a propane detector that will alert you loud and clear if you have propane in your air. Otherwise, your first indicator will probably be the smell of rotten eggs. This smell is added to propane to alert you to leaks. If you smell propane in your RV, open windows and get outside immediately and turn off the tank. Have your RV checked before turning it back on. If there is a leak, it will most often be a minor repair.
Do I need to put chemicals in my toilet?
According to an RVtravel.com survey, about 90 percent of RVers use some kind of additive, which helps to break down solid material and prevent odors. Check with your local RV supply store. There are many brands of chemicals available. Choose one that is environmentally friendly. If you are concerned about odors from your tank, install a 360 Siphon Vent on your roof vent. It will draw odors out of your tank. The cheap vent covers installed by manufacturers force stinky gases into your rig, not out.
Essential equipment for RVers!
Camco TastePURE Water Filter with Flexible Hose Protector
This best-selling product reduces bad taste, odor, chlorine and sediment in drinking water with a 100-micron fiber filter. Use it at your campsite to keep sediment out of your RV water tank and improve the taste and smell of your drinking water. Many RVers consider this essential equipment. Learn more or order at a big discount.
Quick Tips
Before you put items in the RV fridge…
Never put hot food or drinks into the refrigerator – cool them first. Also, wipe excess moisture off of items before you place them inside the fridge, which will help prevent condensation and frost buildup.
Fridge not cold at higher elevations?
Taking your RV into higher elevations and find that your refrigerator just doesn’t seem to be staying cold? The “thinner” air at higher altitudes can affect fridge operation on LP. You may find you’ll only get good cooling when switched over to electric.
If you could tell someone new to RVing just one thing, what would it be?
From the editors: We asked our readers this question. Here is one response:
“My number one piece of advice would be, unless you are absolutely married to the idea of buying a new RV, consider a used one instead with some miles on it. Most of what can go wrong has (most likely) already been resolved, the initial deep depreciation has already occurred and you can most likely enjoy your new RV in the manner for which it was intended. Sure beats sitting around watching your brand-new RV depreciate while sitting in a repair lot waiting for warranty work for six months!
—Speaking as an owner of a Winnebago with 100,000+ miles on the clock.” —Burns Rafferty
Random RV Thought
When selecting a campsite on a very windy day, try to position your RV facing into or
away from the wind. The wind will have less of an impact and keep your rig from rocking
as much.
Hang up the heavy stuff!
RV walls aren’t exactly designed for having screws or nails driven into them. Enter acrylic mounting tape. This is a clear, double-sided tape that is sturdy enough to hang heavy objects and can easily be removed without doing damage to the walls. Get some on Amazon here.
Contact information
Editor: Emily Woodbury
CONTACT US
Editorial (all but news): editor@rvtravel.com
Editorial (news): chuck@rvtravel.com
Advertising: Advertising@rvtravel.com
Help desk: Contact us.
Everything in this newsletter is true to the best of our knowledge. But we occasionally get something wrong. We’re just human! So don’t go spending $10,000 on something we said was good simply because we said so, or fixing something according to what we suggested (check with your own technician first). Maybe we made a mistake. Tips and/or comments in this newsletter are those of the authors and may not reflect the views of RVtravel.com or this newsletter.
RVtravel.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Regardless of this potential revenue, unless stated otherwise, we only recommend products or services we believe provide value to our readers.
Mail us at 9792 Edmonds Way, #265, Edmonds, WA 98020.
This newsletter is copyright 2022 by RV Travel LLC.
Random RV Thought – We park ours with the wind at our side. If we park our RV facing into or away from the wind it causes excessive noisy billowing of our long slide topper. And yes it has been adjusted twice by service centers but it still billows.
If I could tell someone new to RV’ing just one thing, I would tell them to subscribe to “RVTravel.com”.
Congratulations, Donald! You won our Secret Phrase of the Day (Year?) contest! Well, if we had such a thing. 😆 Thank you very much! Take care. 🙂 –Diane
I would also recommend not to listen to your so called knowledgable neighbor who has a Class A 30″ who asks you why do you have a pick up truck to haul your 17 foot travel trailer when you can use your Hyundai Sonata to pull that thing.
Hmmmmmm. And he has grandkids too! Hope they don’t go with him on vacations
The first problem is with someone with a Class A even telling someone with a travel trailer what is best for them. Maybe the Class A owner should read the articles here about towing capacity of different vehicles and trailers before giving any advice.
I’ve had a truck slide in camper, three travel trailers and now on my third fifth wheel. All were ‘experienced’ units and I’ve had very little trouble with any of them. For me, price and depreciation kept me from buying new.
Our 1999 Bounder has been trouble free other than normal maintenance and a great joy to get us all over the country. One of the best buys we ever made. We have owned it for over 5 years now. Chuck
I bought a two year old used travel trailer and had nothing but trouble with the refrigerator. Spent about $800. to fix the problem. Six months later I noticed the plastic strip running along the roof was cracked. After winter storage one of the ceiling panels came loose and had to fix. Dealers either give you no warrenty or 30 day warrenty. They charge $130. hour for repair and take their time repairing. Traded it in for Jayco Jayflight and don’t have any issues. Prefer not to buy other peoples problems. Luckily I’m mechanically inclined and familiar with fixing things. Somehow we need to get RV manufactures and RV parts manufactures to put quality in RV manufacturing and parts supplies build good quality parts.
In reference to all the tips to buy used, I did on my first RV which was an older Class A. It came with its own set of problems, but it was 25 years old, too. My second and current RV is a 20’ travel trailer we have had for about seven years. We bought it new after searching for a used one for over a year. It is unbelievable how poorly the ones we looked at were maintained. Virtually every used one had a FILTHY refrigerator that smelled terrible and the entire rig would smell of black tank. That was in addition to physical damage that had not been fixed, bugs and mice. We finally decided on new. The quality was definitely disappointing but I have fixed everything myself rather than taking it back to the dealership with a long delay.